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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23557276">Trials and Tribulations</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LCoR/pseuds/CherryDrop'>CherryDrop (LCoR)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mulan (1998)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Character Interpretation, Alternative Perspective, Dark, Death, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, In Character, Mental Disintegration, Mystery, Sad, cult of personality</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:07:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,973</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23557276</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LCoR/pseuds/CherryDrop</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Chi Fu stumbled forward in the darkness, letting out a sharp gasp as his foot caught on a root and he plunged to the ground.", dust rising up in a cloud and clinging to his clothes. Dust meant dirtiness and dirtiness meant dishonor, and as someone who had had to fight for every scrap of honor he possessed his entire life, the dust was loathsome to him. He squeaked because he barely had any time to think about how clingy the dust was, because infront of him was the still form of a soldier. And sticking up, illuminated by the still flickering end, was an arrow that had once been on fire. Common sense took over.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/18446996">In Which Chi-Fu tries to survive</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/LCoR/pseuds/CherryDrop">CherryDrop (LCoR)</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is the rewrite I was talking about :) I hope you were notified.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Somewhere in Time In Space</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once upon a time there was a room.  In the room sat a middle aged woman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In these times, when women were considered cheaper then the men, she was the most powerful woman around. This was mostly due to chance-and, of course, birth. While other women prepared for marriage, she prepared her son to lead a country.  That wouldn't be until next spring, when Liu Po came of age. In the meantime, the dowager empress was the steward and head of the country in all but name-and what is in a name, really? Despite that it was pure chance who she'd been born to-she made the best of that chance. At a young age, she had discovered if she was quiet, she would be seen as less of a threat. For some reason or another, it never seemed to occur or weigh upon the men in the room that the quiet, well </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dressed girl was absorbing everything she heard. Thinking. Comparing. Imagining.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nobody thought that when her brother (and, to her dismay, her husband as well) got ill and died, </span>
</p><p>
  <span>she, who had already been taking care of the middle kingdom’s finances for a full decade while her husband/brother loafed around (whether he was a forward thinker or just could care less as long as he got his idle time was uncertain), quietly sat down in the throne room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course it wasn’t easy. There were protesters and naysayers and even a few assassins, but throughout it all, she persevered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With her intelligence, the middle kingdom prospered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was ruthless, but not callous. She was brave, but not hardheaded. She could be kind, but she endeavored not to be soft, for there is a difference between those two.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The nights were long and the days were exhausting; but she had no  bitterness-she knew no bitterness-she had been taught no bitterness in doing her duty, and if she had ever felt the slightest modicum of bitterness, she would not have called it bitterness-because </span>
</p><p>
  <span>she would not have known what to call it, even as she felt it-imperfection was not allowed. The agony of falling short was felt. But it was not named. And it was spoken of. And it was not allowed. And thus, she persevered. For women, things were getting better. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had been dowager empress for a fair amount of time, and many of the courtiers had grown to respect her greatly-sometimes, she even balanced some laws  that tipped a little too far in favor of the man-although, as China's current steward, she could not afford to show any outright bias towards any group of people- her mother, who she had always considered much wiser then her father, had taught her that bias was a sign  of weakness. Of course, that same mother had taught her to calmly submit to her father, even the more vile </span>
</p><p>
  <span>whims, such as claiming that heaven had told him that  she was to be her brother's wife to "keep the bloodline pure". Still, it had ended with her brother/husband (who had always taken after his father) dead,  and her with the honor as serving as the country's leader.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And teaching her son to be the same...she frowned a bit. Her boy was the son that most mothers would dream of, handsome, clever, and accomplished. It wasn’t that he didn’t take the lessons she gave him seriously (no matter how well kempt the country was in her stead, the riots if she kept the country any longer then prescribed were inevitable-the best she could do was to train him up to follow in her footsteps) His tutored spoke well of his attention, and when she her self deigned to take the time to tutor him, he always repeated back to her what she had taught and seemed to remember it well enough...and then acted like he didn’t until she prompted him. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Liu Meng didn’t care. He lived in a world of wine, women, and song. She had probably only said the words, “We need to talk about Liu Po,” a few times, but it felt like a thousand. He didn’t dismiss her outright-he simply waved his hand and had a servant take care of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which would have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but-Liu Po had this...</span>
  <em>
    <span>way </span>
  </em>
  <span>about him. People would go to discipline him, or she herself would go to be stern with him-and all of them, even his mother-though she knew him a bit better then the palace servants-would walk away with a starstruck expression, while Liu Po walked away, rather satisfied. It was so hard to decribe. Liu Po had a way...with people...it was almost magical how he could charm people...enamor them...bedazzle them...but those same people always ended up hurt somehow, badly...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>*If only he would devote that cleverness to actually accomplishing anything* She thought wearily. Liu Po </span>
</p><p>
  <span>greatly enjoyed being the crown prince of China, for certain, but he could care less about duty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the problem with that was that his charm helped people </span>
</p><p>
  <span>assume otherwise. Or perhaps that was good. It wouldn't do for people to riot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>*Creak*</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The Crown Prince Liu Po requests entry!" The herald declared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The Dowager Empress Sustains Crown Prince Liu Po's request!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As a little girl, she had always found these ceremonies </span>
</p><p>
  <span>frivolous. But then her mother had taken her to listen </span>
</p><p>
  <span>to the reading of a report of a recent riot-and the subsequent executions en masse-then she had understood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How these ceremonies and courtesies held the Middle Kingdom</span>
</p><p>
  <span>together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too much excess of luxury alienated the people; made them</span>
</p><p>
  <span>angry. Too little differentiation, and the line between </span>
</p><p>
  <span>ruler and subject began to blur. Either way, chaos began</span>
</p><p>
  <span>to form. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her own room, as her son, just at the cusp of coming of age,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>entered, was not terribly sumptuous. But it was clean. And </span>
</p><p>
  <span>it had nice wallpaper. It definitely a higher class room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But at the same time, it didn't have anything that a wealthy</span>
</p><p>
  <span>citizen would be jealous of.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was just right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Liu Po didn't understand, but that was what mothers and </span>
</p><p>
  <span>teaching and childhood were for, correct? She was worried about her boy, though. He was practically a man. She would </span>
</p><p>
  <span>still be able to veto his decisions and have a say in matters, but now, he would have a say too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wouldn't give up on him. She would *never* give up</span>
</p><p>
  <span>on him. He was her son. He was family, and the bond </span>
</p><p>
  <span>between family members was a sacred one indeed. But at the same time, she would not turn a blind eye to his misconceptions </span>
</p><p>
  <span>about ruler.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded at him, giving him permission to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Mother," He said, bowing respectfully, "I have done the </span>
</p><p>
  <span>calculations," </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, dear. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This</span>
  </em>
  <span> again. She let him keep talking though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Let him wear himself out, talk himself into a corner. Then </span>
</p><p>
  <span>she could shut him down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And I assure you that I mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span> cruelty towards the citizens with this tax increase. They will want for no basic</span>
</p><p>
  <span>need." He looked at her. It was the exact argument he had </span>
</p><p>
  <span>given before. Did he think that if he repeated it enough,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>she would give in? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Honored Son. While I appreciate your concern for your people's </span>
  <em>
    <span>basic</span>
  </em>
  <span> needs, it seems almost as though you are</span>
</p><p>
  <span>talking about livestock. Humans are not animals to be kept </span>
</p><p>
  <span>in cages and have only their 'basic needs' to be attended </span>
</p>
<ol>
<li><span> They won't be happy. Their loyalty towards us will fray."</span></li>
</ol><p>
  <span>"But, mother-" She didn't interrupted, though it seemed, </span>
</p><p>
  <span>from the way he'd paused after that, that he'd expected </span>
</p><p>
  <span>her to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He recovered. "Honorable Mother." He began. She nodded</span>
</p><p>
  <span>politely to him. "You are right, when you say, that the </span>
</p><p>
  <span>people may be discontent. However, are we not stronger then</span>
</p><p>
  <span>them? Do we not have higher authority than them? Can we not</span>
</p><p>
  <span>reset the equilibrium?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Honored Son," She responded. "Is all this necessary, or </span>
</p><p>
  <span>is it possible that one young man's desires can be sated </span>
</p><p>
  <span>without the bloodshed required to ‘reset the equilibrium’?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His face turned bright red. She had won this one, as usual.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of course, honored mother," He answered, giving her another</span>
</p><p>
  <span>respectful bow. "However, as my birthday is approaching, </span>
</p><p>
  <span>might we discuss this over dinner?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was an odd request. Despite his charm and charisma, he was a solitary lad, and always had been. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she had embarassed him rather soundly just now. Perhaps </span>
</p><p>
  <span>she was getting through to him. Perhaps it was a peace offering…or perhaps that peculiar quality about him, that always seemed to set near everyone around him at total ease, was finally beginning to work on Liu Ji…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they started with the tea, she sighed inwardly. He must have told them</span>
</p><p>
  <span>ahead of time that he was planning on joining her for dinner.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What would he have done if I'd said no?</span>
  </em>
  <span> She wondered, as she picked up her tea, and took a sip. As she did so, she noticed him watching her. It was a funny look. An odd expression she had never seen on him before. As his mother, she had seen lots of his expressions. His mouth was twitching.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He's regretting this already</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she sighed inwardly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>His father still holds influence over him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She swallowed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately, his face burst into a huge grin. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She thought. She was about to reprimand Liu Po for showing </span>
</p><p>
  <span>such an unfiltered display of emotion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But that was before her throat contracted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cut off from her air source, she was vaguely aware of her sliding off her seat, her forehead knocking against the table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A voice(?) Screaming, "Fiend! FIEND! TRAITOR!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked down at her, he was screaming, had she been poisoned? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked furious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So furious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But for one second, just one second, though she could have imagined it, her son was smiling again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had just enough time to think of how strange it was-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>and then her vision went dark. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>
    <em>Year XX Mth XX Reign: 63</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My Dearest Child, </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>General Li, </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>(My. how that name suits you. I was always hoping that someone with that name would become a general. I have every confidence that if you’re studious and alert, you shall every bit as fine as such a lovely name suggests.)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It is an honor and delight to have you in the army. Surely fortune smiles upon you to make your mark with such a decisive attack.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I hate to cut the pleasantries short, dear General, but there is much to be done. At your disposal is my aide, to provide you information, council, and any other assistance you may need.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I cede him, the army, and all of its resources under your authority. May heaven smile upon you and all your endeavors.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>- Son of Heaven, China's Boon and Crowning Glory</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu was done with transcribing the conscript notices to the official hanjian records, and after which General Li had promptly set him to work on filing his papers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then had, with a flourish, deposited </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>onto the top of his new work load. With a conspicuous smudge, a smudge of greasiness and sweat, the shape of a thumb and just the right side for a pudgy middle aged man, right over the characters </span>
  <em>
    <span>your authority. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>he knew that he had to obey the General under all circumstances, his own letter from the emperor had, while urging Chi Fu to provide ample guidance towards Li, had also sternly reminded him he was under no circumstances to disobey him. ‘If the minds behind the army’s advance are not unified, then our forces will shatter’. He had said. It was Heaven’s will that the general, even a still budding one, be the undisputed authority.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For another agonizing moment, the thought that the emperor had misjudged General Li surfaced. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course the emperor could be wrong, and could be fallible. That was why he had advisers, but it was common knowledge that it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>rare.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He needed to write at once. Right after he finished organizing the papers, which were thankfully quite few, due to the training only just starting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Father?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu looked up to spot a brawny boy, entering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looking for your father?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not my father,” The young man stated, as though Chi Fu needed telling that this strange soldier who’d he’d never seen before in his life was not his son. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I see. Name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Li Shang.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Regiment?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Ah. Uh, General Li is your father?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes-he’s not in here?” Shang asked again, poking his head in to peek around in the dim little room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is his tent.” Shang said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I believe, and yet…” Chi Fu gestured meaningfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So where is he?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu, whose job didn’t normally involve interacting with people who could not take a hint, was growing a bit cross at this point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s not here.” He said in a low, firm voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I know that, but could you tell me where he is?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...No. I hope he’ll be back soon. Good day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shang frowned at him, then left.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shortly after, when Chi Fu was done organizing the scant amount of papers-just letters, really-worrisome-the recruits hadn’t stopped milling around idly outide, either-he desperately hoped that the camp wasn’t as disorganized as it looked, though it was seeming more and more like it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He closed his large, dark circled eyes and thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A camp too small to hold the thousands of men called out to fight. A single bookkeeper-himself-who General Li himself didn’t even seem to have thought to have appointed; with piles of bookkeeping to be done. And the camp had been taking in conscripts for a week. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Li would be leaving in a few days. Writing back to the capital would take just a week to make it, and even longer to respond. Chi Fu could feel his innards freezing with a familiar sense of dread.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu wondered, as his long, bony fingers deftly organized the papers and gracefully deposited them in a neat stack to the right of General Li’s desk, if General Li would penalize him for getting up and seeking him out without being told. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Li seemed to be a rather cunning fellow, and he did seem eager to keep his distance from Chi Fu. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was that enough to write to the emperor about? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu bit back a sigh. Even though there was nobody else in the room, it was a good practice to keep your emotions as muted as possible. Never knew who could be watching. Never knew who who or how they would interpret it. Interpretation: That was key to this case of the General. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All the reasons not to trust General Li were there: His suave, lax attitude, only tempered at Chi Fu’s prompting. Tacky, but expensive looking helmet, and his eagerness to show it off, yet his troubling evasiveness at displaying his strategy. The week without reply, the lack of paperwork done. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello?” Shang was standing in the entrance. In his hand was a wooden board with a piece of charcoal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu stared at him. “Wha-?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Shang looked down at it. “Oh, this, sir,” He gave him a gleaming smile. “I decided to make a map of the entire camp so that I could find my father,” His smile faded as he saw Chi Fu’s incredulous look. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was wondering if you could borrow some of your parchment?”</span>
  <span></span><br/>

  <span>“That would only be useful if you knew </span>
  <em>
    <span>where </span>
  </em>
  <span>your father </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>on the map so you could find him…and if he stayed in one place for as long as you used that map...”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“No, no, I’m going to add Father last...no. No. Then-wait-</span>
  <em>
    <span>argh!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Shang looked frustrated as he left, having realized the flaw in his plan to locate his father. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With the distraction gone, Chi Fu returned to his musing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Isolated, all of these things would be too inconsequential to report on. The imperial court would laugh in Chi Fu’s face if he sent a letter solely to complain about the General’s poor sense of fashion (though they might get nettled General Li wasn’t wearing the </span>
  <em>
    <span>official </span>
  </em>
  <span>helmet-which was much more tasteful and subdued than General Li’s choice.) And anyway, there was no law against decorating one’s helmet. As for Chi Fu, whose utilitarianism was almost fanatical, and whose own sense of fashion only consisted of wearing matching clothing (Which was a moot point considering he wore his uniform every day), even he could tell you blue and yellow clashed.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe there should be a law, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Chi Fu mused. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There are far better things the money that went to that helmet could have gone toward! Grain, supplies...Wait a second! </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>As he idly began to ponder how much inventory could have been spent with that helmet, he realized that among General Li’s sparse paper there was no inventory. No table detailing the camp budget. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spring had come, but Chi Fu was feeling cold surprisingly frequently as of recently. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Day Zero</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There were six guards on the road. Guarding one man in the center; the protagonist of the story.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was about forty, but he had a very somber, serious expression, a face shaped like someone who frowned a lot, and wrinkled his brow a lot, and these creases made him seemancient. From head to toe, he was thin and gaunt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything about him seemed tall and narrow, from his body to his skull to even his eye sockets. His eyes were huge and saggy from long, late nights working. By far his most peculiar feature though, was his mouth. The lower jaw jutted out far beyond the upper jaw hoped to reach, giving him a perpetual expression of defiance, making his chin seem swollen and his nose seem shriveled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Other than being serious, the expression didn’t reveal much. He had carefully cultivated it to be so. It just wasn’t proper to reveal that his deformed jaw was aching from all the jolts and bumps from the road, or that his legs were throbbing with pain, (he had been riding a lot the past week)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a carefully neutral expression of disdainful disinterest, that kept others at a distance (he liked it that way, it was less distracting).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>worried. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The past week had been spent delivering conscriptions. Well, mostly mobilizing other men to send conscriptions, since it would have been impossible for him to do the job all by himself, he was onl to get at the generals, as well as send some letters to General Li to organize information.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the worrying part. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The emperor, wanting to mobilize forces immediately, chose to have General Li to head the charge, and sent Chi Fu to accompany him as a source of information and advice. “Strength and Intelligence,” the emperor had said, as though Chi Fu needed a review on the two wheels analogy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu was also annoyed. The proper thing to do would be to reply. Even a negative. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Anything.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>This last town was the same as all the rest. No messages from Li. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>He wasn’t sure what to expect when he rode into the training  camp that evening. He wasn’t even sure if it was up, from the silence on General Li’s part. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it was, and General Li was there to meet him...with a joviality that, if it were possible (which it was not) would have well assuaged the week of silence. A report on what officers would join Chi Fu in overlooking the camp, who was assigned to what in the hierarchy, was worth more than all the joviality General Li could offer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good evening, sir!” General Li said. “You’re looking-” General Li’s gaze traveled up and down Chi Fu’s spindly body before resting on his ill proportioned face. “...tall.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Did you receive my mail ?” Chi Fu asked impatiently. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Certainly,” General Li said, smiling at him. “It was a true honor to receive.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I didn’t get your reply,” Chi Fu replied coolly, letting an edge of annoyance creep into his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reply? Ah…” General Li gave him a big, gleaming smile. “What a shame, that is. How could I not have written a reply?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>And Chi Fu was just about to reply when General Li breezily continued, “Well, you see, your excellency, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>write a reply. Must’ve gotten lost. Real shame-”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“No matter,” Chi Fu interrupted before the mouthy general could talk anymore, “I’m here now. I trust the emperor informed you of what I was appointed to?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes! </span>
  </em>
  <span>The emperor! What a man, I tell you. What a man. If I can be even half the man that that man is in my entire life, I’ll die happy. So, you’re here to help me with advice?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Yes,”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Oh, excellent! So what’s Heaven’s Firstborn want you to advise me on?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Chi Fu hesitated before speaking. He was afraid General Li would interrupt him again. But General Li was giving him another gleaming smile, the perfect picture of complete attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But wouldn’t the emperor’s letter have told him? Strategy, war protocol, whatever information was needed. The two wheels of balance!  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Chi Fu glanced around to see what other bookkeepers he would be working with. General Li’s behavior did not suggest promising information...even more foreboding was that he spotted nobody else in the camp above private rank. </span>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <span>“Whatever you need advice on, General,” Chi Fu forced a grin, revealing his crooked jaw line and unsightly teeth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Li cringed visibly at the sight, causing Chi Fu to cringe inwardly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He sent </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>to help </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Well, I’ll be! Spectacular man! Spectacular man.” He gave Chi Fu a meaningful look. Though he and any other properly educated citizen agreed wholeheartedly, Chi Fu hesitated to concur-there was something just too </span>
  <em>
    <span>flashy </span>
  </em>
  <span>about the way he went about saying it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Son Of Heaven is the Son Of Heaven,” Chi Fu answered quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Li gave Chi Fu a long look, and then he did something astounding-</span>
  <em>
    <span>he changed. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m worried too, sir,” He said quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tension that Chi Fu had felt that had begun to feel at Gen. Li’s exuberant greeting melted away, but only slightly. It had all happened so abruptly. But years of work in the imperial court had made him good at playing his cards close to his chest, so he pretended to not be bothered by the sudden shift. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re all worried,” He said softly.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>General Li’s eyes gleamed. “Sir, I know just what you can do,”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Chi Fu nodded, happy to finally cut to the chase-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Chi Fu wanted to scowl. He couldn’t, because due to his crooked teeth and the jaw situation, it would just cause pain. So he </span>
  <em>
    <span>half </span>
  </em>
  <span>scowled instead, and valiantly did his best to focus his anger into transcribing the conscription calls onto the Hanjian-all 500 of them. It wasn’t as though the work wasn’t important enough-but the emperor had </span>
  <em>
    <span>sent </span>
  </em>
  <span>him to provide a source of information to the general, a task that would need him to be in close </span>
  <em>
    <span>proximity </span>
  </em>
  <span>to the general. Speaking of Li, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he, </span>
  </em>
  <span>after showing Chi Fu the pile of conscription scrolls, had trotted off to do who knows what. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The very existence of this task is a testament to his inexperience! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Chi Fu fumed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s had a week to divide this task amongst the subordinate officers, and here are 500 of them, completely untouched! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Again, he realized that he had not seen anybody besides General Li above private rank, much less any book keepers or inspector. A horrified flutter shot through him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Does he expect me to do all of this by myself?! </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hmmm...</span>
  </em>
  <span>working swiftly, so as to not be put behind, he used his extra seconds to think. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Could this be all the men in the boot camp? 500 is a ridiculously small number for a brute force group like the Huns, but the camp did seem rather small when we came in…does he think that it’s small enough for me all by myself? That could take at least two days, and that’s if I only break for sleep! </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>...</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>That’s it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu stood up and forced himself to set the hanjian down. It hurt him to leave them as they were-symmetrical, and worse, </span>
  <em>
    <span>incomplete-</span>
  </em>
  <span>but he </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to settle things...once and for all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <em>
    <span>Where </span>
  </em>
  <span>is </span>
  <em>
    <span>he? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Chi Fu wondered, glancing around the camp. With General Li’s colorful clothing, and the subdued, earthy colors of  the milling recruits before him, it shouldn’t have been too hard to spot him, especially since he wasn’t in the special work tent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chi Fu?!” </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Li’s voice. Li’s voice! Right behind him! Oh, thank goodness-Chi Fu whipped around and-</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What?!</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu just barely managed to suppress a high, girlish squeak of surprise from coming out of his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something the matter?” General Li asked smoothly. “You look like </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>have just seen a demon. Perhaps you should sit down.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Chi Fu, whose legs were throbbing from riding for a good deal the previous week, even if General Li hadn’t approached him like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>would have politely but firmly declined to sit. But since General Li </span>
  <em>
    <span>was...</span>
  </em>
  <span>well…</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Is that...your helmet…?” Chi Fu asked meekly. He vaguely recalled a helmet when he had last seen General Li a week ago, but now </span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Li squinted at him. “My head? Gosh, I don’t-oh. Oh, shit, did a bird drop on it?” He took off his helmet, </span>
  <em>
    <span>all two feet of it, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and carefully inspected it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah. No bird. Thank goodness, I spent a fortune on this,”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“It looks...expensive, alright,” Chi Fu said shakily. He was focused on the two protrusions sticking out of the top-they looked like feathers, but Chi Fu had never heard of a bird with blue and yellow stripes like that. The golden wings affixed to the side were bad enough, but those enormous, dyed (that was the only thing they could be) feathers just pushed it right up into ridiculous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Li was no innocent, inexperienced guardsman…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh...I see!” And then General Li began to chuckle. Chi Fu, who had been gazing off into the distance blankly, slid his eyes in the direction of General Li (and his helmet)</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“These are dyed ostrich feathers,” He explained. “Look, it’s a bit like yours!” </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Chi Fu suppressed a sigh. General Li’s ridiculously tacky helmet was the least of his worries. Although, it seemed to be a symptom of a larger problem. And, deep in his subconscious, where (most of) the non war related grievances were going, he resented having his hat be compared to the General’s helmet.</span>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <span>“Very nice…” He said half-heartedly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where did he even get that? That’s not what generals wear! </span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>At this rather unenthusiastic praise, General Li changed </span>
  <em>
    <span>again. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“You think so? You think so. Oh, I’m just so happy you like it, I really am. Spent a fortune on this thing,”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Chi Fu’s knees felt as though they were made of jelly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You finished the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hanjian?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu blinked. General Li’s helmet furnishment had completely distracted him. “Actually, that was what I wanted to-”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“You didn’t finish the Hanjian?” General Li asked plaintively. “But...that was what I told you to do.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Oh, I assure you-”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Wait. Wait. Chi Fu, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>the general here.” General Li pointed at his-</span>
  <em>
    <span>urp-</span>
  </em>
  <span>helmet- “The emperor-</span>
  <em>
    <span>spectacular man</span>
  </em>
  <span>-” It was like saying the sky was blue. Over and over. While they were standing beneath the very visible, very blue sky. It just was weird. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He put me in charge, so you’re just going to have to trust me, alright? That’s an order. Just focus on what needs to be done here, and take it to me.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <em>
    <span>But we didn’t trust you. Well, the emperor partially trusted you…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Approximately a week earlier</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“General Li’s heart is in the right place. I trust his intentions...but I don’t trust his experience. His location and motives will grant him swiftness, but he will need someone to provide information…”</span>
  </em>
  <em></em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  
  <span>Back in the present, Chi Fu was beginning to think-that the emperor </span>
  <em>
    <span>might </span>
  </em>
  <span>have been wrong. It wasn’t good to assume the emperor was wrong-at the very most, if he was wrong, that meant that everyone else was </span>
  <em>
    <span>more </span>
  </em>
  <span>wrong, but General Li hardly seemed to have good intentions. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Besides the fact that he was slothish and wasn’t taking the situation nearly as seriously as he should have been...it was just conjecture, but something about that smile </span>
  <em></em>
  <span>really </span>
  <span>rubbed Chi Fu the wrong way. It was too twinkly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had seen that smile before, long, long ago, on some vendors in the local market...the vendors experienced buyers steered clear of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But that was neither here nor there. And besides, the emperor had also told him to, under no circumstances, disobey General Li.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see,” He said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good!” General Li flashed him another </span>
  <em>
    <span>big </span>
  </em>
  <span>smile, and then trotted away.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Seeking</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The camp was too small to hold every soldier. </p><p>Either a lot of men had ducked out, which was impossible because Heaven had said that, with <em>very </em>few exceptions, the people would come. There were only two other training camps besides this one...he needed to ask Li how many there were...and why there would be so little numbers here.</p><p>Maybe the emperor said something he missed. That happened disturbingly often. Chi Fu had learned t check something twice, t make sure that he hadn't been wrong and reality was disslved out frm ne of them.  <br/>
<br/>
He didn’t see anything but tents.</p><p>
  <em>And...no...other...administrative officials. </em>
</p><p>Already quite a few men had noticed him and come up t him with various complaints, most commonly theft, also surprisingly common was the claim that a short hairy man had snuck up on them, stomped on their feet as hard as he could, and then made a mad dash for it before anyone could stop him or figure out anything more about him other than he was short, hairy, and stomped <em>really hard</em>. Chi Fu was fairly certain that was an exaggeration because nobody could stomp that many feet before they got caught.</p><p>At any rate, Chi Fu had done his best to get away from them as fast as he could before they figured out that without an established system right there to report to immediately, he was as powerless as they were and they all revolted and all the rebels had their heads chopped off, and then all the non-rebels too, because of the disorganized paperwork and unreliable eyewitnesses nobody could tell who rebelled and who didn’t, or if everyone rebelled, and Chi Fu had his head cut off too because paperwork could have prevented this and Chi Fu was the only one there who understood any of this! </p><p>
  <span>No matter what angle he looked at it, General Li trumped him in every way. He was stubborn and had the power to completely decommission Chi Fu. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>His idiot son has more of a chance at influencing him than me, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought to himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Li trusts him because the boy is a syncophant to him…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just because I can’t fight him doesn’t mean I won’t fight him…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Quietly…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>When General Li returned, he saw a change in Chi Fu. For one, he smiled at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu thought long and hard about how to make General Li trust him enough to get through his bullheaded ways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As rife with psychological warfare, political intrigue, and mind games as the imperial court was, Chi Fu was largely inexperienced in the whole thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thought back to his childhood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thought back to Shu.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He would smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I hope it’s enough.  </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>General Li, I am terribly sorry for doubting you-No. No. What if he doesn’t realize I’ve doubted him, and he’s just sidelining me as a result of incompetence or general stubbornness? If he’s not doubting me now, he’ll probably sideline me even more so then before? Or not. Or even worse. If I’m wrong about him, then I have no baseline. He’s unpredictable. How do I even know he’s an idiot? Oh...right, the helmet. And the mistake. Mistakes aren’t good. Is this an occasion where it’s acceptable to judge by appearances? If it’s the result of a choice...especially a poor choice…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Briefly-ever so briefly, for that was all Chi Fu would allow it in his head-he was haunted by the memory of a certain youngster who climbed a tree on a dare from some older boys, fell out, and broke his jaw, resulting in said lower jaw sticking out awkwardly from the rest of his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shuddered involuntarily at the memory, glanced around furtively to make sure nobody was gawking (especially not at his jaw) and fought to refocus.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Right. General Li. The helmet. It’s not just a </span>
  </em>
  <span>helmet! </span>
  <em>
    <span>You can’t just be a General on the great wall, and then after the emperor assigns you to head the mission because he was the one closest at hand to stop the advancing at hand  and then strut around with some expensive custom decorations. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>In a world where children were expected to be seen and not heard, Chi Fu had spent a lot of his childhood thinking-there was simply no other way to be seen and not heard-other then drooling, that is, and for certain </span>
  </em>
  <span>nobody </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted </span>
  </em>
  <span>that. Chi Fu would rather die than be caught drooling. It had been bad enough as an adolescent, getting used to his whole mouth situation…</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Stop </span>
  </em>
  <span>thinking </span>
  <em>
    <span>about that! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Chi Fu scolded himself sharply. The stress truly was getting to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I need to test the waters...but how...</span>
  </em>
  <span>His eyes traveled around the busy camp (the soldiers had eventually stopped glancing, once the novelty of odd-looking blue and purple-clad man intensely watching the camp entrance had been lost) and it’s </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was an ugly smile, with most of the teeth missing and the jaw all out of allignment, which worked in Chi Fu’s favor, since General Li, an expert at social exchange, was so busy focusing staunchly on Chi Fu’s forehead, that he failed to notice that the smile didn’t reach Chi Fu’s eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thus, General Li, by all intents and appearances, had fallen for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stopped giving Chi Fu tasks to keep him away. And when Chi Fu fawned over his ‘undoubtable strategic ability’ (which was </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically </span>
  </em>
  <span>true, since really, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>shouldn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>be doubted, and if any reason to doubt him came up anyhow, that made him a cheat-not that he said anything about the technically true bit) General Li offered to have attend a strategy session) It wasn’t much yet, but he had a foot in the door, so to speak. And he would have time during the journey to influence the stubborn General...right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though he got many weird looks and had many recruits cause trouble for him, Chi Fu got an idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No matter what angle he looked at it, General Li trumped him in every way. He was stubborn and had the power to completely decommission Chi Fu. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>His idiot son has more of a chance at influencing him than me, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought to himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Li trusts him because the boy is a syncophant to him…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just because I can’t fight him doesn’t mean I won’t fight him…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Quietly…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>When General Li returned, he saw a change in Chi Fu. For one, he smiled at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu thought long and hard about how to make General Li trust him enough to get through his bullheaded ways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As rife with psychological warfare, political intrigue, and mind games as the imperial court was, Chi Fu was largely inexperienced in the whole thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thought back to his childhood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He would smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I hope it’s enough.  </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I give Chi Fu a pass for being a syncophant because he's clearly a syncophant With An Agenda...an Agenda that I rather like...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Waiting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chi Fu’s eyes flew open. It was the crack of dawn. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It all came back to him. General Li. The recruits. Shang. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His saggy, baggy eyes forced the groggy gunk between his eyelids apart. His jaw throbbed and he coughed up saliva that had pooled up overnight.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Breakfast!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Where’s breakfast?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“We want breakfast!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>These angry outcries forcibly pierced into the tent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With practiced speed, Chi Fu threw his robes on and poked his head outside, where quite a commotion was in full speed. Well, angry men talking loudly, but the storm clouds were definitely gathering. No system meant no executive decisions, and unfortunately, that made no breakfast. Not that Chi Fu ate breakfast most of the time anyway. Breakfast was for far less busy men than he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sun had barely risen. He slipped back inside his tent, splashed water on his face, knotted his thinning hair quickly and hid it under his hat, and then, armed with his slate, strode outside. General Li was standing amidst the chaos. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man looked remarkably cheerful, despite the ruckus, until he spotted Chi Fu and his face morphed into one of surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah...remarkable man that you work for, sending me such an early riser,”  General Li said, looking rather uncomfortable. “Say, why don’t we sit and talk about...uh...stuff?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Despite General Li’s unpromising topic, Chi Fu’s joy was genuine. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Every detail is important! </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>EVERY! SINGLE! ONE!</span>
  </em>
</p><p><span>“Are you waiting for someone?”</span><span><br/></span><span>“Oh-ho, what makes you think that?” General Li answered, in a way that made Chi Fu think that General Li </span><em><span>was, </span></em><span>in spite of his denial,</span> <span>waiting for someone.</span></p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What’s going on here? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Who is he waiting for? Should I ask? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu did his best impression of a nursemaid and gently asked General Li what the problem was. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What </span>
  </em>
  <span>problem?” General Li asked softly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The...uh...breakfast clamor out there?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Breakfast?” General Li looked confused. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Shouldn’t you go buy some rice?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“...Errr...that’s a fine idea. Here. You go do that.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>The act of ordering breakfast was quite simple. Startlingly so. Had Li had planned this to distract him…? or, even more disturbing, had just neglected it all together, and risked mutiny. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He briefly indulged in the possibility that he had missed the commanding officers, but n, there were still no other officers. He was the only one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>When he came back this time, the camp seemed to be in more chaos than usual. But he didn’t have time for their silly games. A jolt of fear of nearly being trampled on a busy day as a child...and even if he hadn’t remembered that day, there was a bigger conflict then the spat taking place right here…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he came in, and for a second, he felt glad, and then he saw that there was someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>with </span>
  </em>
  <span>General Li, someone young, with a broad back and chiseled features…</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t like this…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>General Li had smugly demonstrated his ability to shut down anyproper investigation. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This will require delicate handling...</span>
  </em>
  <span>Delicate handling, of course, meaning an obscene amount of flattery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu turned his back on the mess and darted inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was only one place he was interested in…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he entered, General Li was not alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shang was there, too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Li was also no longer standing around waiting but at the helm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shang was completely enamored with his father’s motions. His chiseled face was focused completely on the map. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>General Li, conveniently recapped the strategy Chi Fu had been waiting all morning for in a few seconds: He was going to attack the Huns.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the entire plan, from start to finish. Chi Fu wasn’t brain dead. He also ha</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu’s response was automatic. It was easy to smile as he sprinkled on some generic praise-technically any response was </span>
  <em>
    <span>allowed, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but General Li wasn’t looking for advice-he wanted to put on a show, and he wanted applause. When the show was over and they would be on the road for a week and a half, there would be time for further critique. It was much harder to smile when he spotted Shang give him a very solemn nod of approval, as though the boy thought that what was going on was the height of tactical intellect.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sadly, it would be a wonderful surprise if the plan worked as it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu shuddered inwardly. He laughed and as empty words poured out of his mouth, he focused with all his being to remain calm.  But General Li seemed to take it, at least...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, they would have some time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When Chi Fu thinks you’re ready, you’ll join us on the front,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were two things colossally wrong with that sentence, and at the moment Chi Fu found himself only able to handle one at a time. He flailed, and then, remembering his purpose, lunged for the one concerning the fact that he couldn’t further work on General Li’s plan if he was supervising Shang and he was making his seemingly slow son a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Captain?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Those empty words of flattery weren’t just the beginning of gaining the trust, they were also the end.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>OH NO</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Did I underestimate him? Nonono</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu managed to not make more noise, but he did have to lower his face to hide</span>
</p><p>
  <span>his disappointment and growing sense of dread while Shang-no, he</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Captain Li-</span>
  </em>
  <span>sat up in surprise and delight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was one thing to feign approval, it was quite another to hide the sense of failure and dread.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fortunately, it was obvious from Sha</span>
  <em>
    <span>-Captain Li! </span>
  </em>
  <span>(Chi Fu resisted the urge to scowl at General Li’s slipperiness and for forcing him to refer to the dunce next to him as Captain) </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Didn’t have experience. He didn’t need to bring down the General’s cold shoulder of stubbornness upon himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Li, however, didn’t quite seem to have the same opinions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmmm, let’s see,” General Li said, smirking and staring at his well-built progeny with undisguised pride. “Number one in his class-”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>What class? I hate how vague he is! </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Well versed in training techniques-”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>That was more believable. Li Shang seemed rather slow on the uptake, but perhaps if he was extremely tenacious about memorizing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Any shred of trust he had felt for General Li before sunrise had been completely obliterated, so while he was busy trying to analyze how plausible he was, he nearly missed General Li’s last accolade. “Impressive military lineage,”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That’s definitely not true, I’ve never heard any of this boy’s ancestors accept that you’re his-wait! YOU are his-why, you-!</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <span>Now Chi Fu, in addition to being terrified, was angry as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stole a glance at Shang, who was still grinning the same blithe grin he had when the conversation started. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Li had to have planned this. That was the only explanation for the total lack of administration-other than Chi Fu himself, who had been traveling almost immediately-Li would be hard pressed to keep him out of the way.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Chi Fu made his displeasure known, and General Li’s patented smile melted like morning dew. “Well! Sir, you are getting quite provocative, now aren’t you? Thankfully, you are legally obliged to do every single thing I tell you...I think maybe even a beheading would be in order, seeing as you’re part of the army, and the emperor made me in charge of the army?” </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Chi Fu squeaked. The momentary satisfaction of taking on General Li directly had a poor chance of getting through to the headstrong general, and now he was helpless...and possibly about to die.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Making his displeasure known would only accomplish some indignant tongue flapping before decommissioning entirely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Either General Li was a bit denser then he seemed or Chi Fu was less poor at playing along as he looked, but </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then General Li left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then Chi Fu was alone and then the weird guy who was </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally </span>
  </em>
  <span>normal and not </span>
  <em>
    <span>at all </span>
  </em>
  <span>a spy for the Huns makes an entrance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>have slumped into his chair if that weren’t a bad idea and spill or tear or get something too moist. It had been a long day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To his horror, he had discovered that not only had General Li sidelined him to overseeing bootcamp, but that he was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only </span>
  </em>
  <span>official sidelined to bootcamp-or maybe the only official in this entire heaven forsaken operation period, judging by General Li’s organization method. That meant too little time hyper analyzing China’s newest (and definitely youngest) captain and </span>
  <em>
    <span>a lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>of time counting, writing, budgeting, planning, etc-</span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>part wasn’t so bad. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That </span>
  </em>
  <span>was merely another form of his job at the capitol. But at the </span>
  <em>
    <span>capital, </span>
  </em>
  <span>there were many more people to divide the work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>It had been a very long day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aside from the unsettling fact that none of Captain Li’s exercises was anything he was even remotely familiar with (unless the Chinese army had a bad shortage of swords, blades, typical supplies, and whatnot and was compensating with bojutsu staffs) there was The Incident. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even without </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>happening right in front of him, the captain, and everyone else, Chi Fu had to leave. (Though he was quite glad to do so) </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Well, he thought, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the ghost of a smile on his thin lips, </span>
  <em>
    <span>At least I’m not the only one tired.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The hoots and laughter as some rather energetic sounding recruits ran right past his tent. “This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>awesome!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Ling Feng declared. “We get free food, free bedding, and we can screw around as much as we want when Shang’s not looking! Best war ever!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Chi Fu tensed, mismatched mouth turning down into a scowl. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Alright, well, those are just some random troublemakers. Outliers, I’m sure.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“WHOOHOO!” Cried someone else. “They said that drill instructors were tough, but all Shang does is get stern, and then when he’s not looking, we can do whatever we want! This is just like at home!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>better </span>
  </em>
  <span>than at home since the food is free!” </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Chi Fu’s clutched at his painstakingly transcribed chart with the weekly costs…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu didn’t know how long he’d been stewing in his emotions when another voice caught his attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sir?” Shang asked, poking his head through the tent flap.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Yes?” Chi Fu asked in a high, tense voice of someone not entirely focused on the respondee. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going out to train,” Shang said.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That’s all he came to tell me?</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <span>Shang didn’t seem to see the problem with this. “If it gets too late, come out and let me know,” He instructed. “I don’t want to get lost in time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And...ha...ha...why would you get lost by time?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Training...training is like becoming one with myself,” Shang said. “And it’s all I have to do. It’s all I want to do,”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Well, er-my goodness, I hope…” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Piles and piles of paperwork and hungry, whiny, spoiled men who seem to live in another reality then I do-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope you don’t intend to win the war all by yourself...like I said…” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hungry, whiny, spoiled recruits. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Chi Fu’s inner voice began to take on that of the emperor. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The biggest portion of responsibility receives the biggest portion of the blame. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Captain...big responsibility…” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He thinks he’s just a special soldier, I can’t do this by myself why did General Li pick you-well, I know why-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Shang nodded, a ghost of a smile. “I know. I’m very excited. That’s why I need to train. Can’t have world-class soldiers if I’m not world-class. Thanks,” He finished solemnly and was just turning to leave, when...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Captain Li?” </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Yes?” </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Did Fa Ping and Yao Hao settle down after this morning?”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shang scowled. “No,” with that, before Chi Fu could ask what ‘no’ meant, ‘no’, as in, mildly difficult, or ‘no’, as in, “We have another Incident” on our hands. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Shang would not be any help. Shang would be a distraction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chi Fu’s heart began to thud harder...</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm thinking of spelling his name 'Qi Fu' in this story. Do ya think that would be confusing?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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